Autumn Harvest Soup

I flip back and forth a lot between wanting lighter and heavier fare. There’s days where I’m heavy on the vegetables, and days where the only vegetable I eat is in the form of tomato sauce in my lasagna. There’s days where I want less sugar in baked goods because my tolerance for sweet is remarkably low, and times where I want the full amount of sugar, full amount of butter, full everything people try to reduce.

I suppose that’s what happens when you generally eat what you crave. Cravings change and no day ever looks exactly the same.

It wasn’t always the case for me. I had general rules about how I ate, what I ate, what time, what foods were appropriate at certain times, I ate the same general things, etc. It was from misguided beliefs about what was healthy and it made me rigid and blah.

I’ve said this before and I’ll probably always say it because I feel like we all need the reminder that our bodies are all different and have different needs at different times. I wrote about how all I’m craving is beans, eggs, cheese and pasta which has resulted in a lot of black bean soup, chili,bread and butter, cheesy eggs, huevos rancheros, lasagna, etc and how that has really been working for my body.

But sometimes that changes. Sometimes I want a latte, fruit and nuts in the morning even though I’m fully aware I won’t stay full for anywhere near as long. I have it and I know I’ll need an earlier lunch because of it and it just isn’t a big deal. The craving for the latte disappears and the desire for beans, cheese and eggsreturns.

Last week I had become tired of my usual black bean soup that I’d eaten most days for the last several weeks so I stopped making it and made this autumn harvest soup instead. My body was craving a change in nutrition and flavors so that’s what I did. It’s cozy, comforting, relatively cheap to make and it’s packed with vitamins.

I generally need a solid amount of protein at lunch to stay full for more than an hour or two, but I’ve found this soup incredibly filling when served with a crusty baguette and butter. I also topped it with cheddar cheese which I realize sounds like an odd combination but I loved the contrast of sweet and savory. You could throw some crispy chickpeas on top, roasted pumpkin seeds, perhaps some bacon or throw in some shredded chicken if you need something with more staying power but, it did keep me going for a solid 4 hours, save for a little chocolate between lunch and dinner.

I happily plowed my way through this batch of cozy soup and then found myself craving my stand by black bean soup once again. I’m also still happily ignoring my husband’s continuing comments about the amount of carbs and cheese we eat. There isn’t a damn thing wrong with carbs and cheese. Not a damn thing.

An easy, budget friendly, healthy and comforting soup for fall. Can be made completely dairy free/vegan.

Ingredients

½ small pie pumpkin

½ butternut squash

1 medium apple, peeled cored and diced

2 large shallots, diced

1 tbsp coconut oil or butter

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 13.5oz can full fat coconut milk

OR 2 C cream

2 C vegetable or chicken broth

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

pinch of cinnamon & nutmeg

asiago or shredded cheddar cheese, to serve

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F

Cut squashed in half, remove the seeds and place face down on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Save the other halves of the squash for another use (think pasta sauce, quick breads, smoothies, etc). Roast for 40-45 minutes or until flesh is completely soft and easily pierced with a fork. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, saute shallots and diced apple in coconut oil or butter over medium-high heat in a deep soup pot. Once shallots are soft, about 3 minutes, add garlic cloves, a heavy pinch of salt, the cinnamon and nutmeg and some fresh pepper. Saute for 1 minute then add coconut milk or cream and 2 C vegetable/chicken broth.

Once squash is ready to scoop out, add the flesh to the soup pot. Blend with an immersion blender or transfer to a large blender and blend until completely smooth. If using a blender, make sure you leave an escape for the hot air to prevent any soup explosions.

Pour soup back in to pot, season with salt, pepper and cider vinegar to your personal taste.

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I’m Amanda Reynolds. A wife, cook, baker, pretend picture taker and lover of all things fall.
There is something magical about taking simple ingredients and creating a comforting, cozy meal or delicious, homey baked good. There is little else that can ease my stress or lift my spirits more than the act of creating something with my own, small hands. Read More

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I’m Amanda Reynolds. A wife, cook, baker, pretend picture taker and lover of all things fall. I hope you’ll follow along as I cook delicious healthy food, try to live a more compassionate life and hopefully start each day a little better than we were yesterday.